‘’9% of outbound calls result in conversations.‘’
You must be aware of Outbound calls, so are you conducting it well?
If you still are unable to do the following such as:
Then you’re conducting the process entirely wrong.
This is the issue, multiple brands think that outbound calls are easy and all you need to do is connect with prospects and it can be managed.
What if you were told that Outbound calls are more than that?
Did you know that you can excel in your outbound call process?
You won’t have to face any of your current issues and will soon start to see results from this process.
Understanding this we have created the ultimate outbound call guide that will help you in the following factors:
Let’s get started.
The image gives you an impression of what Outbound calls are.
Outbound call is the process where sales reps like you voluntarily engage with prospects.
This engagement could be done via any channel or platform such as cold calling, emails, social media, and more.
Here the main factor to highlight here is sales reps are going to leads and not vice versa.
This is a traditional approach and is still being used even today.
There are multiple types of Outbound calls that are being conducted, we have shared the list in our next category.
These are leads whom you contact and are unaware of them. You are just aware that they are your potential leads. Until and unless you engage with them, you won’t be able to categorize them as a particular lead.
These are leads whom you have shown interest in your product but haven’t yet decided to invest in it yet. Such leads require more push to confidently make an investment with your brand and product.
These are leads that are ready to become a loyal customer for your brand. These leads are ready to invest and require lesser to no push to confidently invest in your solution. However such leads are less in number which means that you need to tap their attention as and when they reach out to you or you understand that they are ready for the purchase because a delay can cause them to walk away.
Now that you have a better understanding of outbound calls, let’s understand deeper your purpose to conduct such an action.
Mckinsey & Company stated, ‘’Organizations that add the human touch to digital sales consistently outperform their peers. They achieve five times more revenue and eight times more operating profit.’’
The business world has gone digital. Today social media has become the hub for prospects to engage and learn with brands. Despite this, when a prospect is connected with a sales rep, they would still like to be engaged that way, ‘’39% of customers think that the process of engaging with customer service organizations and getting their questions answered is getting easier. ‘’
Human touch has been hidden behind the world of digitalization but with practices such as outbound calls, this lack is being restored once again. At the end of the day, given an option, prospects would prefer to communicate with a human and not a bot or a text communication to make a purchase.
Since outbound calls surround the concept of reaching out to prospects itself, this clearly states that you can tackle your competitors faster. When you’re able to create a list and understand who and what your prospects are and what they expect, it becomes easier for you to understand how you can deal with them. Since you are aware of this, reaching out to them becomes easier.
As stated earlier, you cannot just pick up the phone and dial the number and speak to your prospects. You will be engaging with prospects that are either new to your product or are warm leads. The outbound call that you’re conducting is necessary because during the conversation you are catering to your prospect’s needs, offering your solution, and listening to them.
In such a scenario, wouldn’t it be helpful if you had a sales pitch right in front of you that can guide you throughout the conversations so that you also offer a better customer experience?
When you send emails or send messages on social media, you need to check or wait all the time to learn whether your prospects have sent you a reply. You might not be able to detect when your prospects would have opened your email or seen your message hence you have no choice but to wait.
But with outbound calls, this isn’t the scenario. The great thing about this process is that when you contact the prospect and they don’t pick up, you are aware that they are not available instantly and you schedule another follow-up to reach out to them. This action ensures that you are never missing out on any leads.
When you speak to your prospects over call, there is one factor that is evident. You will be able to detect whether a prospect is interested in your solution or not. You might still require multiple follow-ups, but you will have an impression of whether you need to continue investing in them or not.
Such an understanding is great over outbound calls because it saves your time to invest in the wrong prospects that will not go on further to add any value.
Another great thing about outbound calls is the fact that you can connect with different types of prospects no matter their location. For instance, you can connect with prospects who reside in Australia or London and win them over quickly with a phone call.
Another great reason to love outbound calls is that you can always improve with each call. Outbound calls can be recorded which means that you can always listen to your conversations and identify what went right and what went wrong so that you can continue to enhance your outbound call performance.
For instance, if you understand that in the last call you had issues such as not being able to listen well to prospects or that you sounded like how your sales pitch was, you can always work on improving it. This action will make your lead generation with outbound calls better.
Katie Mitchell, who works at Clickback stated about the process of Outbound actions in sales via quora,
‘’If you’re not utilizing outbound marketing tactics, you’re missing out on huge opportunities to grow your sales funnel.Outbound marketing gets you in front of potential customers quicker and, most importantly, before your competitors do.’’
Now that you’ve understood the impact of outbound calls, let’s move ahead to understand how you can excel or rather perform better with this.
The best way to conduct outbound calls is to ensure that you create and build an efficient sales team. With the sales team, training them would be the first priority such as:
The next step is to analyze your audience. For instance, for you to sell better you need to first understand who your target audience is. In order to understand this, you need to conduct multiple types of research so that you can get a better understanding of your prospects such as their contact details, job roles, location, their needs, and more.
When you start to build your target audience list, you will be aware of what expectations your prospects have and can cater to them accordingly via outbound calls.
The next step you will have is to list out the value your product has. Your prospect will invest in your brand only if they find value in it. If they find that your product doesn’t or rather can’t cater to their needs, they will not invest in your solution. To create a value list, you can conduct the following questions:
After the above steps are conducted, it is time to then start generating your leads. The main purpose here is to exhibit your brand and the solution to your prospects. There are multiple ways of conducting this action such as posting ads on social media, writing blogs, writing newsletters, creating social media posts, and more.
Now that we have this clear, let’s list out the top techniques that can help you conduct efficient outbound calls.
When you have a set goal, it makes it easier for you to achieve your goals. If your outbound call goal is to achieve more valuable leads, the sales teams will perform accordingly. It is important that you set a goal as to what you aim to achieve with the outbound call process. Accordingly, you will be able to conduct your actions.
Your sales pitches are always mistaken as a sheet you need to repeat when you’re communicating with your prospects. This is one of the main reasons why prospects walk away because they want a sales rep that can help them and not treat them as another sale.
Instead, you can use your sales pitch as a guide. This guide will help you frame your communication format better over the call. You will be able to take references and then enhance the communication better.
Another great technique for outbound calls is to keep your prospects engaged over the call. Don’t bring a gap when having a conversation with prospects. For instance, when you’re on the call, ask questions in order to learn more about your prospects such as what their queries are, what they are expecting from your product, what solutions they wish to receive for their needs, and more.
Empathy is the process of understanding what your prospects are going through. This is a great selling tip as when you are able to relate to what your prospects are going through, then only you will be able to conduct your outbound call better. To practice empathy, you can try listening more to your prospects, picturing yourself in the prospect’s situation, and more.
If you’re going to treat all your outbound calls as a sales call then your outbound call process will not give you the results you’re expecting. Hence it is important that you treat each outbound call as a purpose to help your prospects find their needs. When you do this, you are opening multiple opportunities for your prospects to convert as a sales lead.
A healthy competition is when you and your prospects are working towards offering the best solution to your prospects. Refrain from speaking badly about your competitors as it is an unhealthy way to exhibit your medium of selling.
Your outbound calls will never be perfect until you learn to practice it well. Your communication whether it is the way you speak or the tone, everything matters which is why you need to ensure that you get it right with each call. Continue to practice your communication skills so that selling to prospects becomes easier for you.
Sales is a tedious task and apart from calls you also have much on your plate such as creating reports and more. You can manage your sales activities by investing in automated solutions where for instance with an automated solution you can conduct follow-ups on time and while that happens you can focus on your outbound calls.
The last technique for efficient outbound calls is to communicate as a human and not as a bot. As humans in the tone of one’s voice, a comfort level can be created accordingly which is exactly what you need to do for your prospects. When you do this, you make it easy for your prospects to engage with you and your outbound calls become more successful.
While you conduct such techniques, it is also important that you are aware that this is working for your brand hence it is important that you measure your outbound calls simultaneously.
The process is covered in the next category.
It is estimated that when a sales rep speaks more with a prospect that indicates that the prospect is genuinely interested in the product. This also indicates that the prospect stands a chance to be converted as a sales lead. Ensure that your sales calls are not too short and are longer.
If the outbound calls being made are high that means the sales rep is performing well and can engage with the prospects. But if it’s less, that means you need to train the sales rep to take more calls.
The outbound calls being made need to also have conversions taking place. The higher the number the better, if no or fewer conversions are happening, sales reps need to consider what they are doing wrong and improve it.
You can even go on to track those sales reps that make sales in the first call, such sales reps can manage leads and convert them sooner.
The more sales calls you made, the better are your chances to convert them as a conversion. However your conversion rates should be high since leads that are contacted are target based lead conversations.
There are multiple brands that offer efficient outbound call softwares. We have covered the best ones for you.
This is an all in one application where you can conduct multiple sales actions with. It works as a CRM solution to store all data well, helps you communicate well with your prospects better with the organization and tracking features. It starts at $15.36/month.
Capterra Ratings:
Convoso is another outbound call software that works well. It offers multiple dialer options that can enhance your outbound calling process. In order to invest in this application, you would require a request for a quote.
Capterra Ratings:
uContact is another outbound call software that provides a dialer option that is automated and also provides multiple other features. The pricing package starts from $50/month.
Capterra Ratings:
Voicent is another outbound call software that comes with a dialer who offers multiple features with it. It even makes use of IVR in order to conduct automated surveys so that sales reps can function better. The pricing starts from whatever plan you choose to opt for.
Capterra Ratings:
Lastly, as you’re aware that outbound calls are a traditional approach, let’s hear from the experts how you can do it better.
‘’I’m 100% certain that you need to use all the possible ways to sell a product to take over the niche. The golden rule is to not rely on only one communication channel.
You need to implement all possible variants: warm or cold calling, emails, video follow-ups, texts, audio messages, and social networks.’’
‘’Cold calling should be included in every sales strategy. The creation of demand is absolutely crucial, and calling is the most effective way to connect with potential clients.
Social networks and other channels of active selling are far more popular these days, but cold calling still shouldn’t be left to the wayside.
Bad cold calling results identify unprofessional managers, not inefficiency of the channel.
Cold calling should be done responsibly. That’s the core reason as to why you need to have a structure for all your selling processes. When I say everything, I mean that you have to take care of all of the processes, from information search and mailing or calling the subject, to the frequency and intervals between the contact points.
Properly written instructions of cold sales will allow managers to solve problems, correct mistakes, and easily create “appropriate” habits.
More personalized sales processes will be created if the marketing and sales flood increases in the email. The managers who mastered cold calling will be 10 steps ahead of their competitors.’’
‘’Cold calls are still alive and well, but more options have appeared. When there’s a balance between mail, cold calling, and other sales means, miracles happen.
Obviously, email will never replace a face-to-face conversation, but cold calling should NOT be the only means for selling.
Once the seller knows the preferences and needs of their target audience, success is achieved.
When that’s crystal clear, the issue of cold-calling inefficiency is no longer relevant. At this point, the optimization process of combining calls, emails, and advertising into one marketing strategy begins.’’
‘’I communicate with 30 to 40 entrepreneurs a week. Those who can talk to an unknown person on the phone as if they were best friends are the most successful.
The most important skill for any good sales manager is the ability to establish contact from the very first seconds. One more important skill is the ability to listen and understand how the product may alleviate the client’s “pain”.
Don’t start by telling your potential client all about the product you offer, statistics, or facts. Let the client speak. Learn to listen, otherwise successful deals will be a stroke of luck and not a usual thing.
Include suggestive questions in your sales script. While answering them, the client should realize that your product is exactly what they need.’’
Cold calling does work if it includes:
● A clear understanding of the cold-calling aim;
● A description of customer personas with all the vital demographic and psychographic characteristics;
● Preliminary client research;
● A newsbreak for the cold call;
● The intention to obtain a long-term relationship with the client.
According to Robert Middleton’s cold-calling strategy, a seller should write one letter a week to a potential client during the month.At the fifth week, the client will receive a letter with detailed information about the seller, together with the time and date of a cold call.
On the day of the cold call, the client will be ready for the conversation, so the chances of a successful conversation increase.Managers using the strategy agree on having a meeting with a client in 25 to 80% of cases.
Greetings or congratulations on a particular event may precede the cold call. The reason for congratulations may be found using LinkedIn or Google.I usually get feedback on 50% of such cases.
It’s important to have a clear sequence of all stages and processes in the marketing strategy. It’s no use improvising in such cases, unless you’re a fan of nurturing pointless dreams.
‘’A basic definition is:
“A cold call is a contact with a potential client who doesn’t yet realize that he needs your services or products. The correct question is: ‘Should IT sales be the first to initiate the contact with potential clients?'”
There are two answers to this question:
● to include only warm incoming leads in the marketing strategy
● to include the search for new cold leads on a daily to-do list.
It’s also possible to divide the selling process into several stages by using SDR (Sales Development Representative), BDR (Business Development Representative), and AE (Account Executive) models. Hire new managers who will actively look for new clients. The account executive will be responsible for finishing the sales process.
SDR and BDR models include the search for new clients, meetings, and presentations. Deal closure is not included in SDR and BDR; the primary aim of the sales managers in this model is to search for new clients and redirect warm leads to colleagues from AE. Deal closure is the responsibility of the account executive.
The biggest problem with cold calling is the specialists who speculate about the topic but don’t understand how cold calling works. They usually claim that cold calling is dead and the best selling channel is LinkedIn.
This strategy may work, but cold calling is still a viable strategy.
Lots of managers start with sales in social networks and make the same mistakes as with cold calling. That is the main reason for bad sales.’’
‘’You should have all possible marketing instruments available to you.
I have clients who use formal letters and get excellent returns.
Any sales instrument should be tested and measured. Furthermore, you should define the efficiency of each instrument.
Cold calling without preceding contacts won’t be better than other selling techniques.
You should certainly invest in high-quality cold emails, sales in social networks, and other marketing instruments. These methods prove their efficiency by having a high level of feedback.’’
When you engage with a prospect, the way you conduct it matters. You cannot just pick up the phone, dial the number, and expect the conversation to continue well.
This and many other issues stated earlier are now resolved with the information you’ve just read above. Communicating with prospects isn’t difficult, when you understand the purpose of your actions and how to do it, everything takes place well.
So tell us, what did you think of this article? What are your views on the topic?
We would love to hear from you, to reach out to us, just tweet.
, December 11, 2020, LimeCall Team
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